Down came the bombs.
High explosives (HEs) blew up buildings. Incendiaries caused fires and were dropped in clusters called ‘breadbaskets’ or ‘Molotovs’. Later in the war, the Nazis dropped parachute bombs – which exploded when they touched the earth. Unable to see where the factories were, the bombers resorted to ‘carpet- bombing’. 90% of houses in London were damaged. On the night of 14-15 November 1940 Coventry was so badly bombed that the Nazis coined a new word: ‘coventrate’ – meaning to destroy a whole city. Winston Churchill visited Coventry. ‘They have sown the wind, they shall reap the whirlwind’, he said. Later in the war he sent 1,000-bomber raids to attack German cities. Many German civilians were killed; some people nowadays say Churchill was wrong, but during the war many British people thought it served them right.
Down came the bombs.
High explosives (HEs) blew up buildings. Incendiaries caused fires and were dropped in clusters called ‘breadbaskets’ or ‘Molotovs’. Later in the war, the Nazis dropped parachute bombs – which exploded when they touched the earth. Unable to see where the factories were, the bombers resorted to ‘carpet- bombing’. 90% of houses in London were damaged. On the night of 14-15 November 1940 Coventry was so badly bombed that the Nazis coined a new word: ‘coventrate’ – meaning to destroy a whole city. Winston Churchill visited Coventry. ‘They have sown the wind, they shall reap the whirlwind’, he said. Later in the war he sent 1,000-bomber raids to attack German cities. Many German civilians were killed; some people nowadays say Churchill was wrong, but during the war many British people thought it served them right.